Another massive The Block finale.
The controversy surrounding the sharing of reserve prices ahead of time; the fact it took 25 minutes of arguing to not resolve the auction order; the fact that the series was all but gifted to the twin sisters given the work they did and how much the judges waxed lyrical about it in the final weeks; the auctions themselves. At least everyone made some decent money.
For those interested the ground floor unit was not sold but rather retained by the production company that makes the series. I guess everyone needs a home base when you’re not in your home city. From the press release…
It was a night of elation and ecstasy for the five couples who had transformed a rundown South Melbourne hotel into a block of luxury apartments as all properties on THE BLOCK SKY HIGH sold at auction.
Pre-auction nerves and jitters quickly turned to euphoria as frenzied bidding across all five auctions netted an astounding $1.383 million in prize money for the ten contestants whose renovation journeys have captivated the nation.
Host Scott Cam said: “All the sweat, tears, hard work and personal sacrifice has paid off for our Blockheads. I‟m over the moon with the results of the auctions. You always hope that the contestants will do well, but tonight‟s results are nothing short of amazing. Now everyone can have a well-earned rest.”
Having left their husbands and young children at home during the gruelling 12-week renovation, Adelaide twin sisters Alisa (29) and Lysandra Fraser (29), both police officers, were rewarded for their sacrifice by being declared winners of THE BLOCK SKY HIGH when their first-floor apartment sold in the opening auction of the night for $1.435 million – $295,000 over its reserve price of $1.14 million.
After an opening offer of $1.1 million, about a dozen would-be purchasers saw bidding for the twins‟ apartment quickly race past its reserve. In addition to banking their $295,000 profit (all couples keep any amount over the reserve price of their property) Alisa and Lysandra take home the competition first prize of $100,000, bringing their total winnings in the grand finale to a whopping $395,000.
Brisbane husband and wife duo Trixie (38) and Mark “Johnno” Johnson (41) were up next. Their fifth-level penthouse apartment fetched $1.605 million – the highest amount of any property and $205,000 beyond its reserve price of $1.4 million.
Level four, as renovated by high-school sweethearts Madi (24) and Jarrod Coppock (24) from Sydney, was the next to go under the hammer. The sub-penthouse apartment transformed by the youngest couple on THE BLOCK SKY HIGH, sold for $1.601 million – $291,000 above its reserve price of $1.31 million and just just $4,000 shy of winning the competition. Audience favourites Bec (27) and George Douros (28) from Melbourne were the next couple to face the auctioneer‟s gavel. Their third-floor apartment was purchased for $1.507 million, which was $242,000 over its reserve price of $1.265 million.
The final auction of the night was that of Perth couple Matt Di Costa (33) and Kimberley Owen (32). Their level two apartment sold for $1.455 million – $250,000 higher than its reserve price of $1.205 million.
Across seven series of THE BLOCK, a staggering $5,705,001 has been given away in prize-money.
THE BLOCK SKY HIGH has been a ratings smash-hit for Nine, winning its timeslot night after night, with audiences averaging 1.3 million on weeknights, climbing to 1.7 million for Sunday night episodes.
THE BLOCK will return to Nine in 2014.